


All the King's Men

by nigiyakapepper



Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-29
Updated: 2014-06-29
Packaged: 2018-02-06 17:23:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1866147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nigiyakapepper/pseuds/nigiyakapepper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kourin sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose in the slightest of irritations. “You’ve done more than enough. Any more and nothing in this world can repay you.”<br/>(Aichi and Kourin; post-Link Joker, pre-Legion Mate)</p>
            </blockquote>





	All the King's Men

Her smile is as soft as the sunlight that peeks through dissipating dark clouds. Quiet, persevering rays of hope that gently light their aftermath and ease away dark red rings in the sky.

Aichi meets her in celebration. He gives her the brightest smile she can’t quite return, and he knows it too.

She lets her hair fall gently past her shoulders, because she knows she isn’t going to be herself anymore. Somewhere in all the fighting, she’s come to terms with it. The only thing left now is a sweet sorrow, a detachment from all the joy and relief, a quiet thankfulness for gaining the dearest friends she never thought she’d have since the day she woke up by Takuto’s side.

Patiently, Kourin waits for her memories to disappear as Void does. They fizzle at the back of her mind, seemingly restless, but when nothing overwhelming consumes her, she tells herself it would only be a matter of time. She doesn’t see how Aichi’s face falls at her resignation.

“How could you even think of such a thing?” she tells him breathlessly, stopping dead on their way home from simple dinner celebration at the local famires. Everyone had cheerfully parted ways and Aichi, the man of the hour, quietly offered to walk Kourin home.

“It’s not right,” he says with a gentle strength and determination. “You can’t be the only one getting the short end of the stick. I want to find a way to save you too.”

Kourin sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose in the slightest of irritations. “You’ve done more than enough. Any more and nothing in this world can repay you.”

“I’m not asking for something like that.”

“Has anyone ever told you just being there,” her voice starts to rise and tremble with tears. “Just you being with us is enough? You’ve…” She hopes he sees the plea in her eyes. “You’ve done enough.”

Aichi shakes his head and looks at the young evening sky for a minute before walking on. Kourin follows him in mildly distressed confusion.

“Aichi—!”

“Kourin-san, do you think I’m a hypocrite?”

“…what?”

They’ve taken a detour through the park. Aichi buys a can of hot lemon tea for himself and a latte for Kourin from the vending machine. They both sit on the bench beside it. Aichi cracks open his drink and takes a pensive sip.

“You guys saved me,” he begins, almost inaudibly Kourin opens her mouth to ask him to repeat it. “Vanguard saved me. I’m only doing the repaying.”

“Aichi…”

“I can hear,” he starts a little loudly, then pauses to think, before continuing in a quieter tone. “…solutions. An offer.”

Kourin is confused. “What?” she says frowning. But the wind whispers and there’s power there, between them, around them. It’s Psyqualia.

“I think I have the power to take back Void’s curse,” Aichi says slowly, seemingly choosing his words. “You won’t forget.” He looks up at Kourin with a smile, ever generous and filled with strength. “I will be sealed instead of your memories, until Void is satisfied—“

“ _No._ ”

The force of it surprises both of them. Kourin doesn’t know when she started crying, but she is and she’s shaking as well.

“You’re not going to do this alone, you’re _not_ —“

“I want to save you—“

“ _You just stopped Kai_ _from the very same thing you’re doing right now!_ ” There’s a dull tin pop and the unopened can of latter in her hand dents with the force of her grip, coffee spilling from the tab. “Something alone! And something _stupid!_ ” She chucks it in the trash.

Aichi winces at the sound it makes and looks at her apologetically. He moves to wipe away her tears when Kourin messily does it herself on her sleeves.

“I’m going with you.”

“Kourin-san, that’s counterintuitive…”

“I don’t care! If Void can’t wait for us to find a loophole around whatever shitty contracts it’s formed, it’s going to have to take us both wherever we need to be! And we’re going to find our own solution together! All or nothing is what this world gets!” She had turned her back to him during her tirade, and now rounds on him with renewed fierceness.

“But don’t you underestimate our friends, Aichi.” Kourin huffs. “Even if they forget, they’ll look for you.”

“I know.”

“It’s not possible for you to not exist.”

“I know.”

“You are an important part of them as they are to you. _Please_ don’t do this.”

“All the more I have to do it, Kourin-san. You said it yourself, we need to find a solution. But Void is impatient.” He frowns, but not unkindly, more out of trying to figure something out. “I really don’t want anyone else to get more involved in Void than they already have been, so if it wants something to take, it would have to be me—"

“I already said I’m going with you,” Kourin interrupts.

Aichi sighs, about to retaliate, but there’s fire in her bright green eyes he can’t help but shy away from. “Okay,” he says quietly, and funnily enough, a little of the burden lifts from his shoulders. “Kai won’t be happy.”

Kourin laughs softly. “Serves you right.”

There’s a pause. Aichi finishes his drink before speaking again, with some amusement. “Although, I don’t think we can do this ourselves.”

“What do you mean?”

Aichi’s staring straight ahead, unseeing. The stars reflect brightly in his deep blue eyes. “Void is like a child. When it doesn't get everything it wants, it clings to whatever it has left like a miser and puts up a fight to never let it go.”

“Who’s telling you this, is it Psyqualia again?”

Aichi nods, returning to the world. “If Void finds out we aren't strong enough to protect ourselves, it’s going to invade again.” He looks at Kourin with determined realization. “We have to do this.”

Kourin nods dumbly, watching as the other boy starts pacing, thinking of answers. They’re going to be the final obstacle that hopefully ends all this mess. Exactly how this responsibility fell on Aichi’s shoulders, she doesn’t know, but what she _does_ know is that it’s unfair, it’s ridiculously _unfair_. To Aichi, to Kai, to all of them.

Her breath hitches in her throat.

“They have to be strong enough to beat Void on their own,” Aichi is saying.

“Knights.”

The word spills from her mouth before she could even help herself. Aichi turns to her, puzzled. Kourin clears her throat.

“Knights. Choose knights. People to guard you when you’re sealed, who won’t let them fight when they aren’t ready. People who will make them strong enough to save you.”

Aichi stares at her before, “Kourin-san, that’s brilliant!”

“You really shouldn’t be happy in this situation—ah!” He’s grabs her by the hand and they’re on their way toward his house. He has two phone calls to make.

 

*･゜ﾟ･*

 

“Selfish,” Ren says, smiling and cupping Aichi’s cheek in his Ren-like way. Apprehension creeps up Aichi’s chest.

Soryuu Leon is sitting arms crossed on his bed. Ren, Aichi, and Kourin are sitting around the small kotatsu in the middle of his bedroom, daintily helping themselves to barley tea and snacks Shizuka made, as if their discussion were nothing more than getting homework done instead of deciding the fate of the world.

“You can make them stronger,” Aichi tries again. He feels the pull of time in his spine. He doesn’t have long before Void takes them. It’s only been a day and avoiding Kai wasn’t as difficult as he had thought. He was out with Miwa, settling things (ergo apologizing, the blonde had told him triumphantly over the phone). Aichi doesn't think he could see him one last time. What wonders Kai did to his resolve.

Ren shakes his head. “I’m with Leon-kun on his one. I’m Kai’s friend you know,” he says importantly and slumps on the table, booping Aichi’s nose in time to his words. “I’d like to think if he were in my shoes right now, he’d do the same thing.”

“…and that is?”

“Say no.”

Aichi wilts. He doesn’t need to ask why. He knows it's a cruel favor. Ren strokes his hair kindly, like a favorite cat.

“Sendou Aichi,” Leon says. “We’re not as strong as you. But rest assured, we understand what you’re trying to do. We’ll do our best to remain neutral. Galliard and the others will be more than happy to help.”

Aichi smiles wanly. “That’s all I can ask then.” He looks at them, eyes overbright and sincere. “Thank you.”

Ren and Leon give him sad smiles of their own. And when they cheerfully bid Aichi’s mother goodbye when they leave—“Come again, boys! Aichi would love to have you I’m sure!”—their smiles have vanished altogether, walking home in mutual mourning, parting ways simultaneously promising to talk more, if only to offer each other some misplaced comfort.

Their littlest one has chosen the loneliest, most painful path.

Aichi and Kourin lay side by side on his bed, legs dangling over the edge of the mattress, feeling like little kids having caught summer ennui, waiting out a previously dreaded event with a tired sort of acceptance. She jumps up and rummages through the bag she bought and pull out a ridiculous looking space pirate costume complete with shiny, fake epaulets and coat tails that fell to his ankles.

“Really.” Aichi deadpans.

Kourin laughs. “Gotta look the part.”

Aichi laughs with her.

 

*･゜ﾟ･*

 

A new day dawns on the moon.

Aichi sits on his throne for the first time, cold, austere and high-backed moon rock. Galliard, Cera, Neve, and Ratie are silhouetted against the light of the Earth. Kourin stands beside him, silent and supportive as the Void pulls him to sleep.

 _I’ll trust them_ , he thinks and knows nothing more.

 

(In his heart, he feels Blaster Blade stir with worry, but he no longer has the energy to care. Unbeknownst to anyone, the Paladin steals into the darkness to find solutions in his own way.)

**END**

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Any Kind of Tomorrow is Good](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2055954) by [galaxyeyedrops](https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxyeyedrops/pseuds/galaxyeyedrops)




End file.
